


Work Hard, Play Hard

by colazitron



Series: Fic Advent 2014 [21]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-21
Updated: 2014-12-21
Packaged: 2018-03-02 15:56:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2817926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colazitron/pseuds/colazitron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry and Niall have fun during the rehearsals for their recent X-Factor appearance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Work Hard, Play Hard

It was fair to say that they had come quite a long way since they’d been on The X-Factor themselves, Harry thought. Not just in terms of their career and their practical knowledge of both music and the music industry, but also... personally. They’d grown. They weren’t exactly the silly teenagers wreaking havoc on their surroundings at all times anymore. They weren’t as rambunctious. Frankly, they didn’t always have all that energy. Looking back on it, Harry really wondered how he’d done it, at sixteen, seventeen years old. Here he was, only four years later, and he couldn’t imagine doing half the shit they used to get up to as if it were breathing.

Well, at least usually.

There was something about being invited back to The X-Factor that was like catnip to them. All five of them, usually, but Harry could admit that this time it had gotten Niall and him the worst. Liam had joined into their shenanigans at first, while Zayn and Louis had begged off and sat together somewhere, talking in low murmurs. Grandpas.

Right now they were on their second stage run through and after Louis had given both Niall and he a stern glare and then made Harry move over so he could stand between the two of them to make them feel adequately chastised, Harry tried to be good. He really did. It was just hard. They were going to be performing with _Ronnie Wood_ soon. They’d not been run ragged recently either and Harry woke up most mornings actually feeling well-rested. It was like a little Christmas miracle and the only one who seemed to share Harry’s joy and energy was Niall.

As per usual.

So they still grinned at each other out of the corner of their eyes, Niall still exaggerated his guitar playing and Harry bopped around with his mike a little more enthusiastically than he would usually. That wasn’t to say they didn’t take their job seriously though and then second run through went without a hitch, just as the first had done. Niall jumped up onto Harry’s back as soon as he’d handed off his guitar once they’d gotten off stage. Louis rolled his eyes at them, but he was smiling so Harry stuck his tongue out at him.

“Just make sure to be back in time,” Louis said. Niall and Harry saluted him in an alarmingly synchronised move - especially considering that Niall was still perched on Harry’s back.

“Aye aye, captain,” Niall said and then squeezed his legs around Harry’s sides like he was an actual horse. Harry laughed and took off down the corridor in a sort of skipping-gallop-imitation movement. Niall joined in his laughter and Harry could hear how he was being jostled in his voice. It made his grin widen a bit.

“Where are you taking me anyway?” Niall asked then, when Harry rounded another corner and Niall started to realise that Harry was not just running around randomly.

“You’ll see,” Harry said.

It was only when Harry rounded another corner that Niall recognised the corridor with the supply cupboard that was somehow always mysteriously empty. They’d spent many intervals between rehearsals in there learning the shape of each others’ mouths.

He ducked his head down into Harry’s hair and laughed quietly.

“Cheeky,” he murmured.

Harry didn’t reply, only let him slip off his back and then crowded him back into the cupboard.


End file.
